Chelsea manager finally reveals who persuaded him to reject the FA, saying the
prospect of playing 'Kazakhstan and San Marino' was not for him

Jose Mourinho has finally revealed who had persuaded him against taking the England job in 2007.

“My wife [Matilde] was right,” he said. “She told me not to take it. Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole: everybody was saying: ‘Come, come, come.’ But I cannot be ­spending two years playing against Kazakhstan and San Marino. It’s not for me, and she was right.”

He also suggested that the media glare on England teams and managers was too intense and negative.

Speaking on behalf of Yahoo, for whom he is working as a pundit during the World Cup, Mourinho said: “England is the kind of team where I am always expecting something good but I am never surprised when things go wrong. In every country I know, especially my own country, people live football in a very emotional way. Normally, the press is critical until the moment the team is selected.

“But then the moment the team is chosen, everybody is together. No more critics. There is a period of complete support. I’m not so sure with the mentality in this country.”

The Chelsea manager added that England would be wasting their time practising penalties for a World Cup shoot-out.

Pointing to his own dismal record in penalty shoot-outs, the Chelsea manager concluded that they were largely a matter of luck.

“I did everything,” Mourinho said in reference to the efforts made to improve the chances of success with spot-kicks. “I trained, I didn’t train. I analysed opponents’ penalties going back years. Other times, I don’t look at this and I did it by instinct. We did everything we could do. My final conclusion?” He pointed to the heavens. “It’s what He wants.”